Robbery suspect allegedly bragged about Monroe bank heist

MONROE — Police on Friday arrested an Idaho man, 53, suspected of robbing a Monroe bank last week and using some of the loot to buy drugs and sex.

A day after the Feb. 1 heist at the Union Bank, police received a tip from a woman about a possible suspect. She told investigators she met a man at the Tulalip Casino and later spent the evening with him.

During their time together, the man allegedly admitted he robbed a bank in Monroe. He reportedly showed the woman the note he used to demand money from a teller. She also said the man gave her money to buy methamphetamine and to pay her for sex, police said.

The woman gave investigators the man’s cellphone number. Detectives later learned the man’s name and driver’s license number from the hotel registration card. Police compared video footage from the bank with surveillance from the hotel. The suspect was seen entering the casino and hotel wearing the same clothes he had on during the heist.

Detectives called the man on Friday and asked him to come to the police station. They learned he was at his mother’s Monroe house. The man was arrested and booked into the Snohomish County Jail.